Recently the Japanese ramen has been taking over Toronto with bowls of
oily soup and hunks of tender meat. Although ramen is good, I can't help but go
back to its Vietnamese cousin - pho. It still offers the comforting
combination of hot soup and carby noodles, but with the added benefit of fresh
vegetables and less oil.

With so many locations, options are endless. Many reviews and articles have been written about downtown pho locations. But what if you live north of Bloor where should you go? I've visited a
few uptown locations and here's my take. Keep in mind that some of the restaurants are chains so they have other
locations throughout the city. I haven’t
gone to any of their other sites so can’t vouch if everything is identical.

Pho 88
isn’t really the best at anything but was the restaurant my parents brought me
to as a child, so I can’t help but feel nostalgia towards it. There’s something
about it that offers a homey feeling to me, so I love to stop by after coming
back from a long vacation.

My pho of
choice is the small well done flank with tendon ($6), which surprisingly is a
combination rarely found at other locations. Most connoisseurs like their beef rare and to
have it cooked table side in the broth. My preference is to have the meat cooked to begin with in order to
retain as much heat in the broth as possible, especially after adding in the
cool vegetables. The tendon is a great
addition but has to be small pieces cooked for long periods of time to get it
to the sticky glutinous jelly consistency I enjoy - Pho 88 nails that down.

Their broth is saltier than the others so it’s a matter of preference. But, since the beef, noodles and vegetables
(bean sprouts and basil) are not seasoned I like the broth to be savoury to
bring everything together. Additionally,their bowls contain more onions (chopped green and shavings of white) which add
a nice aroma to the soup.

Pho 88’s biggest problem is inconsistencies. Sometimes the broth and spring rolls are amazing and other times just
okay. I find they are surprisingly at peak performance during weekends when they are busiest. Normally, their pork and shrimp spring rolls($3.50) are crispy and the filling a good mix of pork, veggies and vermicelli
noodles. On this occasion the filling
was a tad mushy because of adding too much taro into the mix, but they still
had their usual crispiness.

Overall mark - 8 out of 10

Where You Go for Vegetables and Spring Rolls

Location: Pho Metro

Address:2057 Lawrence Avenue East

Pho Metro
is a recent find for me located in a small strip mall where you’d never notice
it unless you knew where to go. With the
smallest capacity, this place gets busy during peak hours. Luckily, service is lightening-quick with
bowls arriving minutes after placing your order.

Included in their plate of vegetables are the normal bean sprouts, basil and lime wedges;
but, they also offer long coriander which I haven’t found anywhere else. The coriander looks like a thick long blade
of grass and tastes like a fusion of chive and mild coriander.

The broth of Pho Metro’s noodles ($5.95) is clearer than competitors and almost has a
consume quality to it. Not offering a
cooked beef option, I wrote it in and unfortunately the beef arrives shrivelled
and unappetizing looking. It’s likely
because they use a leaner cut of beef so it’s relatively dry, although still
tender given its tissue paper thinness.

The cigar
thick spring rolls ($4.50 for 2 or $7.50 for 4) are the best I’ve ever had with
a filling where you can actually taste the pork. They are crispy and have an
airy delicate centre; I could easily have two to myself! As a warning, Pho Metro’s spring rolls are
served piping hot (coming from someone who can handle hot temperatures), so you
may want to hold yourself back and let them cool down a bit.

Recently
opening a new location on Midland Avenue, Pho Vietnam's dining room is one of
the most opulent and cleanest I've seen. Consisting of individual tables
(rather than the long communal set-up), relatively comfortable chairs and clean
wood panelling it’s a location for those who may be squeamish about the regular
hole-in-the-wall surroundings.

Also,
they are one of the only restaurants that serve their side of bean sprouts
pre-boiled, if e-coli is something that troubles you.

Strangely,
they do not offer a well done beef only option (I’m sure they may if you
specially request it), so I opted for the rare & well done beef pho ($6.50). Pho Vietnam also offers a choice of noodles –
dried or fresh. The fresh version has a
smoother texture but I find it too soft. Rather, the tried and true dried version,
which of course is rehydrated before serving, has the springiness I like.

Pho Vietnam is likely better for those that are health conscious. Their broth is
bland for me but is good for those who are watching their salt intake and the
thinly shaved beef is much leaner than most. Sadly, during my visit, the broth wasn’t hot enough so quickly became
lukewarm after adding all the vegetables.

The pork and shrimp spring rolls ($5.50) were extremely crispy, to the point that
it may have been too crispy as it seems like they were rolled in two layers of
wrapper. Sure, crunch is great, but a
really good spring roll also has an airy “light” middle, so I found Pho
Vietnam’s version a bit dense.